> > This week on the wheel community.

> > The man is and one podcast prey on masculinity and the influence on politics.

The > > for Connecticut Public on Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

It's a show that connects politics.

The people we got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond right here.

The 2024 election cycle was remarkable.

Donald Trump, then the former president was shot at a campaign rally.

8 days later.

Joe Biden, the incumbent in the race, dropped out.

Kamala Harris replace Biden and after Brat Summer, Harris met one watershed moment, a podcast interview that never happened a week before the election.

Harrah's team couldn't agree with the producers of the Joe Rogan experience at a time for the vice president to appear on the program.

But Trump was on the show and he ultimately won the election.

This hour, we're asking how podcast targeting young men the so-called man, a sphere influence, gender politics, popular culture and elections.

Democrats like people to judge saw Dottie and Texas congressional candidate James Talerico line up for interviews on podcast.

We want to do and the man is fair play a big role in November's midterms.

Do you think it will?

What podcast?

You listen to.

Are they political?

Hit us up on our YouTube streamer.

Give us a call.

8, 8, 8, 720-967-7887, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, We've got several guests on the show today to help us take a crack at the man is fear.

Elena more as a reporter for NPR Washington's desk.

You also might find her on Instagram modeling this.

NPR Mini tote later.

Thanks so much for being here.

> > Good morning.

Happy to be > > Happy to be Be talking to back.

you.

Happy for What's going to be cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C., so enjoy yourself down there.

Charlie Seth, her is the director of the Young Man's Research Project.

Charlie, great to have you on here.

Thanks for having great to have you on the show and excited to talk about your research.

I want to set the groundwork here.

It's really a wide-ranging conversation about masculinity media and politics.

Elaine of them is fear has got a lot of attention in the past couple years.

We've talked about it a little bit on the show between us in the past.

But let's talk about now.

It's its relevance to politics and why it's sort of matters.

> > Well, yeah, I mean, it matters because in 2024 in the 2024 presidential election, we saw both Republicans and Democrats really make an effort to reach young voters.

But on the right, you know, President Trump that when then candidate Trump really made effort to 0 in on young men and he went on different meat.

You know, media, nontraditional media platforms that young frequently congregate on and that are popular.

Whether that was specific podcast teaming up with streamers on different programs meeting with just really, you you know, a prominent influencers and I think going in that space we've seen meant a lot.

But it was also, of course, talking about issues that were front of mind for a lot of these people.

So that's why this is still such a big topic because we saw politicians when they do engage with this group.

it can make a difference.

> > What I'm thinking about the man is fear here.

I'm thinking in particular about.

My brain going to Joe Rogan, Theo van.

He talked about the podcast ERs.

Charlie, maybe about their shows and maybe even the ideas that they share sort of take us through the spectrum here.

> > Sure.

Yeah.

It is a spectrum.

I think that's a good word for it.

You know, like any generation like any part of media, every show is different.

And we shouldn't, you know, lump them all as much.

And it's necessarily but yet they have various maybe overlaps an audience.

I think it's a good way to put it.

But some of these shows do have kind of different missions.

I mean, I think about someone like Joe Rogan, as you said, or comedians.

Theo Van, Andrew Schultz, they all have very popular podcast with predominantly young male listeners that range on partisan identification.

But, you know, those shows are places that I think would be often described as first and foremost culture shows.

And I think part of the reason it was so striking the Trump went on those programs is because he was able to capitalize on a changing political culture where politics may feel a little less forcibly coming up.

You know, it just kind of naturally comes up in what they, you know, in what these hosts are talking about.

And many of these posts talked about feeling in some ways pushed away, were alienated from the Democratic Party.

And that's something that we now know is something that a lot of young men felt and a lot of young of of, you know, young women and young men.

So I would put those skies in a political culture space.

This kind of a political turn, more political looking to be engaged with, engaged with but will we can talk more about that.

That space is also kind of a volatile one.

It doesn't necessarily inherently mean party loyalty, but then I would also say there is a space targeting young men that is way more overtly partisan.

And I would put that in, you know, the late right-wing activist, Charlie Kirk, his show that really Kirk Show, which is continuing to stream out every day, you know, either programs, Tucker Carlson Show things that I would say there shows that do release center on politics.

And I think that is a different space.

Then maybe some of the more traditional man a spear.

And then you have a another space that people would consider far right.

That has more extremist views and in the spectrum here that we're talking about someone like Nick Fuentes, who obviously has extremely controversial background.

And he's, you know, the Holocaust and I are he's he's made a really misogynistic comments and and I would put him in a completely different categories.

And this is a huge space of younger men and shows that are appealing to younger men.

But that's what we have to talk about.

It.

> > And I think it sounds like the spectrum here goes from more subliminal sort of political messaging to that more overt.

It sounds like you're saying and young men.

I think you said this earlier are part of a traditional demographic here that doesn't necessarily vote is much.

It's called low propensity voters.

They might not necessarily turned out in huge numbers.

Exit polls show that Donald Trump won them over in 2024. one analysis saw sound that was featured in time with something like 54% of the vote share in the 18 to 29 demographic of young men went for Donald Trump.

What part of their message was to where they drawn to Elena and then help me understand if if you've sort of been able to do that autopsy and you have some may be better numbers are more exact numbers here.

> > I wish I had you know, updated data.

I could just refreshed every day.

But no, I think, yeah, we saw this shift to the right among young men.

More pronounced there's been a growing gender divide with young women and we should say that's roughly, you know, voters under 30 when you look at exit polls, that's kind of what that Mostly Gen Z a little bit of the young millennials ca Spurs.

and you know, when I was out covering the 2024 election and talking to people around the country.

It was the issue that you hear from a lot of generations.

And, you know, economic strikes.

But I do think there is a unique economic connection that a lot of young people feel.

They feel that a lot of, you know, the traditional milestones that were promised to them and maybe they saw their parents and grandparents achieve are not attainable anymore.

And I think that's something that really has resonated with a lot of young I've talked to researchers and pollsters who say as they went out and talk to people, you know, there's this sense of feeling like, you know, have to kind of step up and have the use excess your parents did.

And if you care that that's a painful personal reality.

So I think that economic message really drove a lot of people that something Trump directly talked about.

It was something we didn't see.

You know, obviously the Harris campaign did talk about the economy and did you know, have a platform there.

But I don't think it resonated the same way as Trump who's really simplified that message to say things are too expensive.

I'm gonna get you know, I'm going to make jobs more.

You know, plentiful on the make things more to bring prices down.

I'm gonna bring gas prices down.

And I think that really resonated.

And the other thing I'll say is I think a portion of the youth face both genders felt left behind by both political parties here.

And I think young men especially have been feeling more and more pushed away and less connected to this party and something that my team often thinks about is this seems to be a generation and maybe a subject, you know, of young men who when they are engaged and list when they're listen to, they can be very engaged.

But if they are not listen to and they're not sot out.

They can be tuned to help.

And I think that that's something we saw in Twenty-twenty 4 and I don't want to over blow Trump's, you know, over hype.

He's going on into these traditional space is because I think to your point, a big part of this was just emphasizing the issues that they care about.

Charlie, do me a favor here and tell me about the work that your group does.

The young men research project.

> > Tell me about the work that they do before.

Ask about the service and tell me what your role is.

> > Sure.

So I'm the director of young Men Research Project, which is a nonprofit research organization that was started in spring 2024.

With the goal of first just better understanding what's actually happening with this demographic now for a while, young men have kind of been over.

What's in terms of, you know, Ziering in on them specifically it too.

See what their political social digital trends are.

For a while.

Young men have been grouped together with young woman Jones.

He has kind of been treated as a model.

Listen, I think as the 2024 election really showed.

That's a huge mistake.

young man and woman were more divided than any other demographic.

This past election.

There was a 17 point difference and Democratic support.

And so there's currently a long way to go in understanding what this demographic is actually thinking about in terms of their preferred policies, messages candidates, 6 cetera.

And so our grief we do next of.

Now assess our main.

I guess product you could say is we to pulling in collaboration with you both nationally representative service of 18 to 29 year-old men.

And will ask or age of questions from their top issues, too.

How they think about masculinity today.

2 of the ways that they engage in civic.

So the clase and so we do polling.

But we also do regular analysis of young Men Inc online world and try to work with.

Pro Democracy, Pro quality organizations too Better understand and conditions that are graphic.

Tell me about these 3 surveys here.

Tell me a little bit about them.

Their insights.

> > And then maybe some top issues that kind of popped up as a result.

> > Sure.

So as I mentioned, we do these nationally representative online surveys of 18 to 29 year-old men.

The first one was ahead of the 2024 election since then, we've done one in May 2025.

And then our last survey was.

October 2025.

Like I said, we kind of run the gamut in terms of what we.

We serve a young man about, but we generally ask, what are their top issues as a lean over 82 time and time again.

Inflation cost of housing.

These are one in 2 social issues tends to more towards the bottom crime and immigration kind of become the more salient for Trump voters, democracy, climate change.

More for more for Democrats and Mustang.

Young men.

But like I said, inflation cost of living the bread and butter issues.

That's still it's on its young men's issue.

Priorities.

But we've also asked the really interesting questions about masculinity.

We do a grid typically on.

Questions related to sexism, racism and some other things.

But there's a lot more.

I can get sick.

> > There is going to be something I want to bookmark here and talk about later because I'm going to play a clip for you later today.

That gets on this issue.

But Elena?

The idea in the 2024 election, at least was that as you're talking about, Charlie, highlighting this and he's not saying this, but this is what some of the people that the surveying are saying is.

Trump.

They think in the calculus and voting for Trump in 2024. is that he's for for for some reason to be able to handle these economic issues.

Where this woman, Kamala Harris might not necessarily be able to address them as that.

What I'm understanding here.

And and by the way, they're going to think that this candidate here on the other side is more going to be aligned with the thinking about social issues.

Is that what some of these survey results tell you or am I just super generalizing here?

> > Are you are you saying there is a gender dynamic or gender appeal and the candidate?

Yeah.

at least so.

So if you're thinking here that these young men that are being surveyed here, they're talking about inflation and social issues.

Some of the tape that we're going to hear later is going to say, hey, just because you may be concerned about inflation if the economy doesn't mean that this one candidate can handle it and the other one can did that happen a lot in the 2024 election, I guess where these these these voters are thinking that one candidate may be able to tackle the economy more than the other one and they might not necessarily be right in that assumption.

> > Well, I think there's always a sense of, you know, what the what the candidates platform is is not what necessarily translates to their the message that voters feel they're hearing.

And I think that was it a huge issue throughout both former President Joe Biden's administration, his campaign and then former Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign was they were preaching and pushing a slew of different messages and for policies and and different areas of focus, including on the economy, touting winds of the administration.

But the key here is that that did not resonate.

And so to your question of why, I mean, I don't think we can know for certain how the dynamics of of candidates gender or, you know.

Adding, you know, just larger identity playing into that.

But I think what we can say is that Trump in some way said the quiet part out loud.

He just really leaned into this.

idea that, you know, young men shouldn't be forgotten and he has repeatedly highlight, you know, he was often highlighting young men like Charlie Kirk or we know his son, John Junior, he picked a young man for his vice presidential candidate and his running mate Vice president JD Vance.

And so I think it's a just a space where you could argue people saw them, young men saw themselves more but I think that we have to, you know, continue to monitor people's feelings on it.

I'm I'm candidate, you know, I didn't qualify Cations because as we can see looking at past candidates, it's less about your qualification and more about how you resonate with people.

Yeah, and should say this better in this regard.

> > Much of what was made in terms of the rhetoric.

And you talked about saying the quiet part out loud > > a lot was made on the right and we heard this and local interviews as well where they're equating Kamala Harris because of her skin color and her gender as being a dei candidate.

That was something that they would say out loud to.

So there there's this effort may be at least on the right where they're trying to.

Yeah line Kamala Harris with social issues and then Trump with the economy.

Is that something that that could be why we're seeing these survey results be so skewed.

> > Folks, we definitely saw push on social issues and has a negative for Kamala Harris.

I mean, you know, one of the you know, remember the ads, people remember a lot was that that ad that ran in swing states around the country of Kamala Harris's for them seeming to imply, you know, her views on transgender rights.

And I would say that there there is this in addition to that economic strife and I admit it's more something I've seen from, you know, either public figures who have large audiences that are young men or just younger, you know, right wing figures like Charlie Kirk.

But there was this real, you know, push to talk more about social conservative values, whether that be you know, pushing back on so-called, you know, dei measures.

And I'm really trying to kind of villain eyes that effort and calling it in some ways they would argue discriminatory towards maybe white people.

Men.

I think that's something we did see some of these podcast years.

Influencers, kind of go online to and same with this rhetoric around specifically transgender Americans and their rights to health care and to be in certain spaces.

I think that was something use.

You hear some of these figures like Joe Rogan talk about it, something he still talks about.

And so there is this sense of Trump.

Connecting with some within this group on on these.

Maybe you could call culture war issues.

> > Charlie, you mentioned the young men and this was in a pre interview with the outstanding Wheelhouse producer tally Ricketson low level of trust in mainstream media.

But these voters seem to be politically in what capacity do these podcast sort of fill the gap?

> > Sure.

So we just got done during a series of focus groups with a few different groups of young men.

Some of them were Democrat leaning some of independents and some of them low engagement.

And of course, there are differences across them when we got into politics.

But one of the common threads wasn't facts.

It's very low level of trust in the establishment.

And I think what you are saying, the establishment, you have to think about the 2 parties, but also the media journalists, really everything that people come together as part of this.

Kind of Washington apparatus.

And so I think the podcast played this role that we're seeing where.

You know, another themselves.

Joe Rogan, Theo von Inter Schultz.

These guys have massive platforms and, you know, they reach millions.

I think they also service proxies in terms of kind of representing the median young man voter, which is to say someone here is a less ideologically rigid more politically independent, the kind of have a gag reflex to cancel culture but they also are not very hard line.

And one where the other down the policy talk it and so.

Joe Rogan, for example, give Bernie Sanders an endorsement of the 2020 election.

I'm Johnny went later with injures Schultz, head of his mayoral campaign and they were quite visibly taken by him.

Ends.

I think the general theme you'll see is that.

He's very anti establishment candidates succeed on these platforms and they also 68 with young men because the reality is that the status quo in the 2 party system.

People who kind of represent us more.

Just very traditional Washington Post just isn't popular.

And so Bernie Sanders and fact is the most popular politician that we find among young men.

And it's not even close.

And I would also note that among from voting young man, he is not favorable.

> > Yeah.

And one way we'll hear it later on that clip in the show is that you might well, some might refer to somebody who's sort of anti establishment as a political desperado.

More on that later.

Just want to tell folks and give us a call.

8, 8, 7, to 0 9, 6, 7, 7, if they want to join the conversation today.

88 7 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, They're political Elena, at least some of these hosts, right?

I mean, they say they're not.

But there's some element of politics in here.

> > Yeah, well, I think it's I think we're in a time where it's pretty hard to avoid politics, especially if you are a digitally.

You know, reliant percent of years on social media a lot.

It's I mean it I think we've been talking about this for years now that.

I think this is a generation that he's had to confront a lot of political issues, whether they like it or not.

And whether that be seeing with their own eyes on their phones, the destruction in Gaza to the violence going on.

Now between Iran and its and its neighbors in the U.S.

and in Israel and to just yeah, this this this influx of of content about politics from both sides of the aisle and somewhere in the middle.

But I also think it's just become a lot more common to talk about this idea.

As Charley said of distrusting this system and the 2 parties.

And I cannot tell you how many times I heard on the campaign trail, lesser of 2 evils.

If I you know, when I said I'm feeling Trump for Harris, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase, I could quit my of and just by a beach house.

And so I would say that, yeah, there's this real.

It's almost like a 3rd.

I mean, I would call an independent because it's like this 3rd.

Space where you're not aligned with one of these parties, you're really focused on issues and you're willing to kind of cross the party that you voted for in an election if they don't align with those issues.

And I think that's a very unique thing to younger voters.

And it's something we see on both sides of the aisle.

They're willing to call out the party.

They made more likely identify with if it crosses something that they believe is a court to their politics.

> > Just as my friends at NPR trying to popularize tote bag Committee told back I'm trying to bring this into the equation what I call the jelly roll quotient because Jelly Roll says that he's not political.

> > Yeah.

The pretty much to live nowadays is, as you said, it's pretty hard to avoid politics at the time.

and I and I kind of want to get to this because I bet I bet that the listener is wondering like where, where we're going to close the loop on this.

But it's a it's sort of because we're seeing this now right?

Going back to some of the tape, right?

It's it's so easy to say something nowadays and you think of gets lost in the ether, but it's recorded its part of the record now more than ever.

So a lot of these folks that are saying you know, hey, we said something about Trump a couple years ago.

I don't know if we feel that way.

Now, some of that and at the time saying that you're not political, some of that messaging is sort of evading responsibility in some way.

It's it's it's sort of giving yourself that out, if you will, to to opt out and say, hey, I'm not a part of that that's happening over there, but I'm not there right?

Do you see some of that in this generation or is something that transcends the generation?

Well, I think it's just really we've always > > I think it's a really hard done thing to kind pinpoint and described like put in in traditional political context because this generation breaks with a lot and he's busy wants to break with more political norms.

And so, yeah, you would think that if you hear a lot of people criticizing, you know, a policy or an action from one side of this political spectrum, you'd be like, oh, they're moving away.

And in some ways that's true.

But I also think this is a generation that because they've been exposed to so much most pragmatic in some ways.

I can't tell you how many young people I spoke with on both sides of the aisle who said, you know, I don't love everything about this candidate, but I know where I have to vote, but then I also spoke to some people who said, you know, neither of these people are are pushing me and I'm probably going to sit it out.

And I think that's a hard thing I think for maybe us in the political world in the NEWSROOM to sometimes fully comprehend because that that idea of almost being not a free agent, but, you know, willing to sit it out unless otherwise told like compelled to stand up.

And I think that that's been something really fascinating to see from some of influencers and podcasters.

I think that that's on full display.

I mean, you look at someone like Joe Rogan, who obviously has been podcasting for years and years and years.

And you watched him slowly moved to the right.

But even now criticize Trump and then he'll still say something that aligns with Trump's values and his platform.

So it's just really not clear.

Cut.

> > And and and this is very important, too.

And we're supposed to go to a break, but I want to stay on this threat for a second because we're celebrating National Women's Month with quite the fury here Connecticut Public over the next couple of weeks as well.

We're presenting the man is here this week next week.

We're going to be talking about in cell culture that that language sort of permeates the political domain and it's fascinating because I'm not necessarily asking you from a generational standpoint why folks are saying the things that they do and then maybe evading responsibility.

Part of the point I'm trying to make is that so we're talking about Gen Z here and young men.

But Joe Rogan Gen Z and he's hosting the show feel Van Gen Z. There are a lot of these folks and I don't even think Charlie Kirk, the Charlie Kirk was more of a customer and he might even be a millenial at this point.

but the point is that or was a millenial.

But the point is that the that we're sort of seeing a lot of influence in this culture in this in this all rights space, so to speak, being influenced by Gen X millennials.

> > Yeah, I wouldn't call it all.

right.

I would.

But yes, that the alternative media space and yeah, a lot of these figures are speaking to a young target audience.

You know, a younger audience than they themselves are.

And I mean, in some ways that's not that uncommon.

Even on the left, who's I mean from the and from Bernie Sanders, he's a Redmond.

I mean, none of those these figures are its they're very few Gen Z Voices who are either eligible to be in office have such a big platform yet.

But those those voices are on the rise.

There are a lot of budding Genesee creators and influencers who are kind of talking similar ways and trying to do similar platforms.

But I hear I hear what you're saying on that.

It is a confusing message to hear them saying one thing and then almost kind of stepping back when things get a little hairy.

> > From Connecticut Public Radio, this is the Wheelhouse.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

We're talking with Charlie Sab.

Her and Elena more about podcasting young men and the man is here.

Coming up, how are black men doing in this space?

Charlie and Elaine are going to be joined by Washington Post columnist Theodore R Johnson.

As we discussed how candidates are or are not reaching out to black voters and the men inside a black man, a sphere if it exists and you can join the conversation by hitting us up.

I'm our YouTube stream were calling us now 88 7 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, It's 7 to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, here in the Wheelhouse.

I Connecticut pup.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

We're talking today about young men podcast and politics.

> > What does it mean to be a man?

Our black men doing in the online mannus fear where Politics and podcast intersect.

Is there a black man is here and are more black men voting.

Monica, these are questions I want to explore with the NRA Johnson count this at the Washington Post.

Ted, thank you so much for being here.

Thanks for having me.

It's going to be here very happy to have you on Alaina Moore reporter on NPR's Washington death.

She's still with us.

And Charlie Sadler, the director of the Young Man's Research Project.

Charlie, thanks so much for staying on here.

We hope that folks will join the conversation.

Give us a call.

8, 8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, comfortable to talk to us here today about race and gender dynamics and about Democracy.

8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, Ted.

We'll go back to 2024.

Elaine and Charlie talked about how Trump was able to win over young men.

We also made inroads with young black voters or at least they're saying that about 3 in 10 black men under 45 voted for Trump, according to the Associated Press.

Is there a shift?

Is there something where sort of as theirs forensic studies being done on elections.

We want to blame somebody so we're comfortable blaming people of color on things like this.

What do you think?

> > Yeah, so we'll My sense of it.

Is that the shift to the extent that it happened is not sticky for the Republican Party.

It's particular to Trump and there's a few things happening that is sort of led us to this point that the first thing is Trump won about 50% of black voters in this past election, which is the highest total in nearly 6 decades for Republican presidential nominee.

So it's not nothing even though it's still very small relative to the number of black folks that voted for Democrats.

It's a it's insignificant.

The second thing is most of the folks, black folks voting for him, as you mentioned, that were younger and more male.

The black, the Black America should say is more diverse than it has ever been in terms of nation of origin.

So many black folks under 40 in particular for second generation black Americans are descended from folks from black people in the Caribbean or Sub-Saharan Africa.

So the connection, the historical connection to Jim Crow sort of anti so right at Republican Party doesn't exist the same for the other black folks as it does for older ones and then and then there's Trump himself is sort of brand cheese, mo and sort being able to do whatever he wants without being held accountable.

And still, you know, being ridge sort pitching himself as a playboy that also has is an attractive feature for for many young men.

Those things came together at a time when he was running against a woman for the presidency.

And I think that speaks a lot to how he did black voters last year.

Composer be believe, though, he's led a lot of support that he gained a leading up to the election.

In the last couple of years.

It can take us into a black man, a sphere if it exists.

> > And telling us maybe how it's evolved over the last couple of years.

> > Yeah, its so interesting.

I'll tell you the studies and research on the black man is fear the stink.

Clay, are it?

So it's still happening.

You know, still being collected.

But even on them and it's feared generally.

So what I will say is one that the ministry urges more multiracial, then we might assume.

And and you know, but I'm Jenna next.

If the manager, it popped up in the 1980's, it probably would have had a segregated section.

You know, they're like the black version, the white version.

It would have been as multiracial integrated as the current version is.

And I think social media as well as just a more diverse country has has contributed to that.

But there is still a very distinct version or expression of the manse year within black America.

I think up 2 of its features arm its relationship to women and it's sort view of what a man is supposed to be in the world.

So the less of an incel culture and lack of minutes here.

More like a passport pros culture, passport growth, that this sort it's it's a term that describes black men who will fly overseas to other nations to have sex with women to date women to maybe bring a wife back to the states and the believe that American women, particularly black American women are suitable mates as they used to be before because of that, they don't adhere traditional gender norms score our view masculinity the same.

And so it's it's almost hyper masculine and hyper sexualized and more social and not a sexual or in so and it sort of confined to the social media and podcast space.

It's certainly more physical.

The other thing is in the way they relate to the black means there is sort of the intricate you looking.

So it looks into black America rather than the role of black men in the world.

And so it's sort of a few of what the black man is supposed to be in the black community and less what a man is supposed to be in the world and much less a man.

It just happens to be black.

So it's it's it's the racial part of the black man is fear plays a central role in its expression and that is not just an adjective for for the the look of the people participating in the minutes here.

That's very interesting.

The way that you put that I appreciate that perspective.

> > Public Religion Research Institute, a non parfitt profit research organization founded in 2024.

40% of young women identified as religiously unaffiliated compared to 36% of young men.

How does this square, Charlie with political messages and with podcast, many young men are listening to so how is religion sort of coming up in the surveys?

Yeah.

So I think first, I would know that there's been a lot of discourse recently about young men walking back to church in this kind of unprecedented revival and what we found in what the researchers found is that generate this is kind of in deep on stat.

The truth of Jensen is that young man and woman are now attending church about on about at the same level, which is unique and not every other demographic woman.

Far outpace men going back to church in so.

I think it's important to keep icon sites.

That said, if you essence of the messaging of there's like turning point and really just the entire conservative movement.

They are very clear in their prescriptions to young men and not you should get a job go to church, get married.

Have kids.

And that's pretty much all you need.

3 happy.

And the successful life.

Meanwhile, on the left, I think, you know, goes without saying that the message really hasn't that hasn't really been the message that young men are hearing for a while.

And, you know, the the following certainly shows young men who are most devoted because the church, you know, every week or more.

Disproportionately, see you, conservatives and Trump waiting.

And so, you know, this obviously has bunch of different causes.

Or how politics social use play out and what not.

But in terms of I think the messaging here online.

It is here that there's like turning point but also less explicitly political messengers too often tell young men too, go to church, pray.

This is the way to find meaning and then age where everything else seem so chaotic.

Earlier we heard from Ted saying that.

> > Polls may be showing that support for Trump is sort of bleeding at this time.

So now we're gonna go to Elaine and let's hear at any kind of evidence you might have there.

What are you seeing in terms of your reporting?

Whether or not it's actually happening?

> > I think you have to look back at the issues that legality galvanized young men to vote or stay home.

I mean, we talked about the economy.

Obviously, there's still a lot of concern around affordability.

High prices, a lot of just economic uncertainty about the future.

But I would also add to other issues that I think we've seen galvanize people at least, you know, in online spaces.

But also I hear it does come up and in focus groups in the field, which is this idea of rooting out corruption and specifically how the administration has handled the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

I and I think that that has been a real sore spot for a lot of voters who felt Trump and many of his key allies had promised to bring answers Convicted sex offenders ties to powerful people and have felt unsatisfied by that.

And we've heard that from some more libertarian Republicans who have really been celebrated in some of these men as fears of spaces, you can say going on some of these shows.

> > And then the other issue I would say is, is you know, the interim international conflicts and war.

I think that is something we've seen really, really, you know, fire up a lot of young people across the political spectrum.

But Trump campaigned on, you know, no endless wars and a lot of young people really have this that desire to have a president who focuses on domestic issues.

I mean, it gets back that American first idea that Trump ran on.

And I think we are seeing and have heard from people a big kind of disconnect on that and or feeling like they were told one thing but are are hearing another by seeing on the unfolding war in Iran.

And obviously some of the United States has other in military interventions over the last year.

> > Ted, are you seeing numbers that show that some of this historic support that Republicans got from black men in America in 2024.

Is changing.

> > Yes, absolutely.

Of a leading up to the election.

I'm going to fudge the numbers a little bit, but it will be in the ballpark of want to say something like 30 something percent of black voters were at least willing to give Trump a look.

And shortly after the election.

But that number ticked up in job approval of for Trump in the latest YouGov poll I saw from last week approval ratings for Trump among black Americans is at 7%.

So so it is it's not only illegal.

It is basically falling back, took fallen back to levels that Republican saw during the Obama The why black unemployment is up.

almost near recession levels at this.

We're national with almost at some wars.

We know who who pays the price for when the country goes towards.

Usually young men and ends and sort of his story and maybe even still typically use the young men of color are the ones that are in the front lines are seen to that perceived to be in the most danger while many of black voters and young black men in particular supported immigration, Trump's immigration policy of the they see in some communities, immigrants as being labor competition.

None of them signed up for immigration agents shooting U.S.

citizens and so the execution of even favorable Policy Dei is included.

Immigration has turned them off to Trump's ability to deliver on his promises and even basic wealth building things like home ownership.

Small business creation for for young black men are not what certainly not what Trump Rob Promise in our in our have taken a hit since last year.

So if you were a black man, a young black man in particular, the end voted for Trump, all of the things you voted for, he has not delivered and on top of that, the racially insensitive things he said it's sort of a lack of belonging in the agriculture.

There's nothing to keep you if the policies and delivering and you're still seen as sort of it sort of pasta size from the broader MAGA, social cultural movement.

So, you know, the was no direction for his support to go among young black voters and black voters generally.

But down given his performance over the last year.

There's a lot to talk about.

I asked you earlier to bookmark this conversation that we're having about race.

> > And sexism and whether or not Kamala Harris could respond to certain issues.

We're going to talk about it after this quick break.

You're listening to the Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

Let's do a bit of a lightning segment here as we have just a few minutes left on the show this week because there's some very important clips that we want to play for.

You.

Alaina Moore is with us.

We also have Charlie Savage are and we have Theodore R Johnson.

Elaine, I just want to spend some time on racism and sexism.

And how it may have impacted.

Former vice President Kamala Harris's campaign during the campaign, Trump called Harris Stupid or slow.

And then there was this volley from Charlie Kirk.

Kamala Harris screams as somebody who has on addressed lingering father issues.

you know, her father does not like her and was even at the convention.

Her father still alive.

It's a mission to find her father and put him on camera.

She always needs to have a man around.

Willie Brown, Tim Walz, there's something on a dress there and that probably is the psychological route.

This content is super sensitive.

It's downright inflammatory.

However, we're playing it because this is what people are hearing.

This is what the guys are hearing and then the got to go ahead and go vote.

So what's your reaction to that?

What you just heard, Alina?

> > Yeah, and I would say I mean, it's not a message that only young men were hearing.

We know that Charlie Kirk actually had a very wide audience of of gender and age.

So I would say that you made a lot of comments about a lot of different, you know, things people that were seen as a.

> > You know, the > > any.

Everything from racist, sexist, who just, you know, things that made people feel it incredibly taken aback and offended.

I think that a lot of Charlie Kirk's comments have continued to surface following his assassination.

And part of that is because he has been online for so long.

But yeah, it's a it's a message that I think embodies a sect of how people are feeling.

But I do not think we should take with Charlie Kirk is saying has said as representation for a large swath of where this, you know, large portion of where young men are headed.

I think that would be an oversimplification at this point.

But it is striking and it's something to keep in mind to see if we start hearing may be younger.

Conservatives who would say they were inspired by Charlie Kirk.

If we start hearing them kind of a champion, you know, amplify similar rhetoric and pushed similar racist, arguably sexist statements like that.

I think that is striking.

But I think it might be a little too early or maybe 2 generalizing take some of Kirk statements and say it has driven further, you know, sentiment among young men because Kirk really did have wider audience and then > > what I was trying to get to earlier, we're talking about the issues and how men are looking at this issues.

At least 18 to 29 year-old men are looking at these issues.

What we're going to hear, Ted is a speech where we hear from Barack Obama and earlier in the speech earlier before he tsetse says what he says in the clip he talks about how it shouldn't just be assumed that if you're looking to vote on the economy, you should vote for Donald Trump.

He asked you to consider Kamala Harris what you're thinking about economics is asking you to consider the work that the Biden administration did.

And then he sort of talks directly to Latinos and black men talking about real strength and what it is to be a man here.

It is.

> > And if any of you have heard a bad or an uncle, her co-worker or drinking butter.

> > Who says he's thinking about voting for Trump because he's tired of cancel culture.

> > Or because he's uncomfortable with Kabul's position on transgender issues.

Or because he just thinks that America needs a strong, tough leader who will get stuff done.

You might want to ask them with respect and with love.

What evidence do we have?

The Donald Trump actually got stuff done?

> > And since when exactly is Trump's trademark behavior, the boasting and the bullying and the selfishness and the cruelty.

Since one.

Is that a sign of strength?

That is > > What real spring looks not.

like Milwaukee.

Real strength is about working hard.

Taking responsibility and telling the truth even when it's inconvenient.

> > We asked what you hear from Barack Obama.

What's your reaction to Johnson?

> > But yeah, it's a I mean, this is this is Obama sort of and it's typical lather it.

It's a good speech.

call to action.

But I think what it misses is that black men who voted for Trump or not looking for a role model, they were voted for Trump because one they didn't trust a woman with the economy over the military.

That's where the very fringe elements.

The the other part, I think more that the more central claim was that the Democratic Party, they didn't feel like the party had to deliver for them.

You know, that these young black men like Trump has been the standard bearer for the Republican Party for a decade.

So and in his first term for all of his missteps, the economy, it's certainly leading up to COVID.

Wasn't that bad?

And there was.

So there's sort of you know, remember 8 years ago when things were so much better when we were in our, you know, 20 or 15 of whatever can we get back to that instead where we are with Biden.

So there's that.

And then the last thing is for for young black men willing to entertain Donald Trump, they have a view of masculinity that says men should be providers protectors and sort of have good standing sort of be admired in the Nothing about good behavior is necessary for those 3 things to be true.

It.

So there is a small segment again, 4, 5 black men still voted for for for for Democrats.

But that that last bit that was not qualifying for Trump, for for men who are seeking to sort of live out those colleagues.

Charlie, we only got about 20 seconds to do this, but is there any evidence that these issues are changing over the vote totals here?

> > Is it still in its place in the economy?

The young men care about.

> > Yes, it is.

And in fact, 3 some polling suggesting Trump is very much under water with the summer aspect on those key issues and it has health care premiums.

Spike has all these issues are becoming more.

Yeah sailing.

It's hurting even more.

Thank you.

Charlie Savage rose with the Young Men Research later more with NPR and Ted Johnson from The Washington Post.

Great contacts today.

Thank you all for that.

> > This is the Wheelhouse.

Thank you so much to our crew that produced the show.

Thank you for listening.

We'll see you next week.

♪ ♪